Splinters of Life
by SkyeRose
Summary: Something new I tried out. Ten short looks into the lives and feelings of our favorite heroes. Better than this lame summary, I promise. Hints at SamJack and DanJan. ONESHOT.


**Splinters of Life**

**Disclaimer: Only my stuff is mine. I do not own songs or recognizable characters.**

**A/N: Long time, no see! Man, it's been a while since I've written. **

**So, I tried something relatively new with this. I set my iPod to shuffle and wrote snippets of stories for the first ten that played. It's really hard writing a story in four minutes or less. Lol. However, when 'If I Only Had a Brain' came on first, I burst out laughing and was inspired to finish all ten snippets.**

**I hope you all enjoy! And I apologize for the writing quality. Definitely not my best. Lol. Please R&R!!**

**ENJOY!!!**

"**If I Only Had a Brain (Extended Version)"—The Wizard of Oz (Ray Bolger and Judy Garland)**

Jack twirled his fork through his, as of yet, unfinished pie. It was apple today…his favorite. But he didn't really care much. His movements were mechanical; just going through the motions. He nods as other officers pass him and wave their greetings or address him by rank.

He keeps glancing towards the commissary door, though he won't let himself admit why. If he was completely honest with himself, _he's_ not even sure why. He was never very good at tackling large problems in a small amount of time. Especially when pie was in front of him.

He's up and moving before he's even sure where he's going. He goes back to the food line and grabs two more slices of pie and two forks before jogging out of the commissary and down the hall. He moves restlessly as he waits for the elevator to stop at the correct floor before bounding off again. When he gets to her lab, he taps the doorframe lightly with his foot and enters upon hearing her voice.

"Hey." She smiles when she sees him and puts down her latest doohickey.

"I come bearing pie." He bounces on the balls of his feet and raises his eyebrows—an invitation.

"I can see that." She motions for him to sit.

"So, what're you working on?" Even though he knows he won't understand a word she says, he's still curious.

"Something that will always let us find our way home." She smiles slightly, like she's sharing a secret.

He smiles back and lifts a forkful of golden pie in a toast. "Hail, Dorothy."

"**Where the Lines Overlap"--Paramore**

The Air Force isn't known for being extremely into parties, but they sure know how to throw them. The music was loud, but not loud enough that you had to scream over it. The floor to ceiling doors of the ballroom were open to the night air and quiet laughter could be heard from the courtyard.

Sam, Jack, Daniel, and Teal'c were sitting in the small gazebo in the middle of the sprawling gardens, a small fountain gurgling in the center of the white structure.

"And then," Jack pauses, laughing. "Then Carter gets this look on her face. Like she's trying really hard not to shoot this guy, but he doesn't notice--," He breaks off as Sam takes over.

"And he keeps plowing on! Son of a bitch…" They all dissolve into laughter again. Anybody listening wouldn't understand why that was funny, but that's why it was so perfect. No one had shared the experiences they had.

They were closer than friends and more than family. They were a team and it didn't matter if no one else understood their jokes.

"**Fake It"—Seether**

Samantha Carter straightened her blue dress uniform and stared at her reflection in the mirror, willing herself to look confident and in control. "Dammit." She took a deep breath and met her own eyes. "If you can't take these guys, you don't deserve to be here." Nodding once at her reflection, she strode from the bathroom with more courage than she felt. As she neared the briefing room, she heard a male voice say, "Where's he transferring from?"

'_Of course you would think I'm a he.' _Sam shook her head in half-disgust, half-amusement. She moves into the light of the briefing room and speaks with a confidence that sounds, to her relief, real. "_She _istransferring from the Pentagon. I take it you're Colonel O'Neill." I salute and continue to speak even as I feel all of their eyes looking me over calculatingly.

This isn't going to be easy. I knew that from the beginning. But standing here, with all of them looking at me, waiting…waiting for me to trip up and prove them right…I won't. I won't let them see me falter.

I am Samantha Carter. And I will prove them wrong.

"**Never Too Late"—Three Days Grace**

The sun is red and sinking fast, the golden color of the sky fading to silver and black. It's a beautiful sunset. Not like one you'd ever see on Earth. But Jack wishes he weren't here to see it. He wishes that SG-1 had never come to this God-forsaken planet. But they had. And they were paying for it.

Blood glistens on the orange and red leaves. The planet is in it's version of an autumn-like season and the air is crisp. Or it had been. Now it is heavy and metallic smelling. Full of blood and death.

Dust dances in the air as Jack whirls and fires his weapon almost without aiming. There are so many of them. So many Jaffa. Swarms of them; like roaches. Roaches that keep coming and coming and refuse to die. He whirls and the world slows down as he locks onto the back of his second in command. She is furiously firing her weapon, the recoil of the gun jerking her shoulders. She's yelling, but I can't make out words.

And then she's gone. Instead of standing and shooting, she's suddenly on her back, gun lying a little away from her limp hands. Jack runs to her, feeling as though he's moving through pudding. And, for one insane second, he thinks that maybe he is. That maybe this is some crazy nightmare and he'll wake up any second.

But he knows this isn't true. He skids to his knees next to her, groping for a pulse. In movies, when something bad happens, the protagonist always sees it in slow motion. Always has that one second where he can fix things or say goodbye. But not in real life.

One second she was there. The next she wasn't.

There was no time. No goodbye.

No second chance.

"**It Had Better Be Tonight (Meglio Stasera)"—Michael Buble**

Daniel leans back and laces his fingers behind his head. It's one of those rare moments when he's completely at ease; completely secure. The dancing light of the fire casts shadows against the trees and gets swallowed in the star-filled sky. He hears footsteps approaching and lifts himself up on one elbow to see who dares intrude upon his pseudo solitude. "Hey, Jack."

The older man lifts a beer in greeting and gestures back towards his cabin. "Sam'll be out in a minute with the marshmallows."

Daniel nods and cocks his head slightly. "So…Jack…"

"Daniel." Jack looks at him like he knows what he's going to say.

"It's a beautiful night." The archaeologist changes tactics.

"It is." Jack nods and looks up at the stars, lost in thought for a moment.

"A perfect night for…stuff." Daniel smiles slightly.

"Stuff?" Jack averts his eyes.

"Yeah. Stuff." Silence reigns for some time before Daniel speaks again. "So…tonight?"

Jack nods slightly, a smile playing across his lips. "Tonight."

"When?"

Jack shrugs and reaches into his pocket. Even though he can't see it, Daniel knows what he's touching. A small velvet box. With a ring inside. Jack winks and turns slightly when Sam opens the door. "Definitely tonight."

"**Numb"—Linkin Park**

Daniel strikes out, hitting at an invisible enemy. He's gasping for breath, running after the murderer. Branches scratch at his face and his breathing is growing shallow and uneven. "You son of a bitch!" He yells before lifting a gun he knew he didn't have a second ago and fires a vicious volley into the trees. He hears someone cry out and collapse with a resounding thud.

Smiling cruelly, Daniel turns and runs back in the direction he came from. He skids to a stop at the side of the fallen woman and drops to his knees. He places his hands over her wound, staunching the flow of blood. She blinks up at him and her mouth works, but no sound comes out.

"It's okay." He whispers. "You're gonna be okay." Janet just shakes her head and blood is suddenly drowning him.

Daniel's eyes fly open and he panics for a second when all he sees is black. Then it all snaps into place and he knows he's in his quarters at the SGC and that it was just a dream. Turning onto his side and burying his head in his pillow, he closes his eyes and almost winces when her face swims behind his eyelids. "Janet…" He whispers into the dark, hoping that she can hear him, wherever she is. "I just want you to know…every night…I save you."

He squeezes his eyes tighter against the tears that push forward. "I just wish I had done it when it actually counted."

"**Plane"—Jason Mraz**

Sam stares out the window as the icy tundra drops away below her, the plane carrying them away from the makeshift battlefield. The plane is warm and dry, but instead of bringing comfort to her, it makes her feel like she's suffocating. But that might just be because she hasn't been able to breathe properly since…

She fights the hot tears that boil up. Deliberately turning from the window, her eyes land on Daniel a couple of seats in front of her on the opposite side of the plane. His head is bowed and his glasses dangling from his fingers. She knows he's blaming himself. Just like she's blaming herself.

Teal'c is sitting a few seats in front of him, conversing with General Hammond in low voices. The dull roar of the engine drowns their voices out and Sam doesn't bother trying to figure out what they're talking about. She turns back to the window and lets the tears flow.

The moon is casting glittering silver shadows on the glaciers far below and, without realizing she's moved, her hand is pressed against the glass. An unconscious movement that mirrors the one she made hours ago when he…when he said goodbye. When that stupid machine took him away from her.

He wasn't dead, but he wasn't alive either. He was trapped in some Asgard purgatory and she couldn't save him. She was 30,000 feet above him and she couldn't do a damn thing about it. She presses her hand to the window so hard, she's sure it will break and, for a minute, she wishes it would. She wants that freezing air to surround her—to freeze her like he was frozen.

As another tear trails a glistening streak down her cheek, her eyes harden with determination. _'I'll save you. I'll find a way. I swear to God…I'll save you.'_

"**Cassie"—Flyleaf**

Cassie had heard Daniel muttering in his sleep before. More prominently in the months after he had watched her mother die. _'Watched and did nothing to help.'_ She knew it was an unfair thought—that Daniel had cared very much for her mother—but it still snaked through her mind. Daniel, standing over her mother's body. Daniel, watching her last breath.

Not Cassie. Cassie hadn't been there. She had been in class, stressing about an upcoming history test. She had no idea her mother was dead until a strange twinge in her stomach made her run to the bathroom thinking her lunch was about to make a return trip. She hadn't thought much of it until Sam had come to her dorm a few hours later, face swollen and red. Cassie had dropped to her knees before the older woman had uttered a word. She just _knew_.

"Daniel…" Cassie whispered, hovering over him in his SGC quarters. As far as she knew, he hadn't been home since the accident. "Daniel…"

He stirs, but doesn't wake. Cassie moves her hand from behind her back and looks as if she's going to lay it atop Daniel's head. "I love you, Daniel. But…she's gone because you didn't save her. You'll be happier, I promise."

And Cassie pulled the trigger.

The echoing shot sent Cassie rocketing up in bed, yelling, "Daniel! Daniel!" Thunderous footsteps answer her almost immediately before Daniel bursts through the door.

"What? What's wrong?" His hair is mussed and his glasses askew.

"I'm sorry." Cassie sobs. "I'm sorry. I don't blame you."

Daniel sits on the edge of her bed and pulls her into a hug. He holds her until she stops crying and then, so quietly she almost misses it, he whispers, "I do."

"**Smash the Control Machine"—Otep**

"Why is it that every planet we visit has some screwed up government?" Jack frowns as he prods their campfire with a piece of wood.

"Not every planet." Daniel says without looking up from his journal. They've been on this planet for less than a day, but SG-1 has already discovered a dozen things wrong with their legal system.

"Mostly every planet." Jack persists.

"Well, we can't all be as perfect as you." Daniel says sarcastically, if not a little distractedly.

Sam sits down next to the colonel and hands him a mug of coffee. He has first watch. "Besides," she smiles slightly. "Our job wouldn't be nearly as fun if every planet had a perfect system."

Jack nods and shrugs at the same time, making him look a little spastic. Sam laughs, but quickly disguises it as a cough. "You know, sir…we've dismantled a lot of different legal systems in the last several years."

"Yeah." Jack grins. "We're regular pioneers."

"Or mavericks." Daniel interjects.

"It's all just a machine." Jack continues thoughtfully. "Throw a couple of cogs in and the whole world explodes."

"**Famous Last Words"—My Chemical Romance**

The room was alive with activity. SG-3 had come through the gate a little over an hour ago chased by an army of Jaffa. They'd been ambushed on a reconnaissance mission and had barely made it through the gate alive. Major Kingston, SG-3's 2IC, had gone missing in the firefight and Colonel Makepeace was demanding that they go back through the gate to find him. SG-1 had immediately joined in, agreeing with Makepeace.

"We don't leave people behind, sir." Colonel O'Neill said in a low voice, but the air seemed to hum with his determination. Sam, who had been standing next to him, felt a single shiver go up her spine, but she told herself it was just adrenaline. It had nothing to do with the man standing next to her.

Eventually Hammond had relented, ordering SG teams 1, 3, 7, and 12 to go through the gate and find Kingston. The gateroom was buzzing with pre-battle jitters; anxiety and excitement shooting up everyone's spines.

"You ready, Captain?" Jack came up behind Sam and clasped her shoulder. He may have held on to her for a beat too long, but no one noticed.

"Absolutely, sir." She smiled and her eyes shone with a feral energy. One that Jack knew must be reflected in his own eyes.

"Good." He called for the Sergeant to dial the gate and turned back to Sam, smirking slightly. "From this day to the ending of the world, but we in it shall be remembered…"

"We few, we happy few, we band of brothers…" Daniel continues, raising his eyebrows. "I didn't know you read Shakespeare, Jack."

"I'm a man of many talents." Jack paused. "And interests." His eyes flick over to Sam for the briefest of seconds.

"Hopefully, one of those isn't dying." Sam leans back on her heels as the fifth chevron locks.

"Worried, Carter?" Jack cocks his head.

"Of course not, sir. I have a good feeling about this one." Sam smiles and looks at each of her teammates.

"Famous last words, Captain. Famous last words." He winks at her as the seventh chevron locks and the wormhole opens.

**End…**

**A/N: Let me know what you think! **** And let me know what you're favorite one was. I personally favor the "Never Too Late" snippet.**


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